Citigroup Awards CEO Corbat $14.4 Million for 2013

Citigroup Inc. (C), the third-largest
U.S. bank, boosted Chief Executive Officer Michael Corbat’s
compensation 25 percent to about $14.4 million for 2013, his
first full year running the company.

He got 78,528 deferred shares valued at $3.88 million,
based on the closing price Feb. 18, according to a filing
yesterday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He
received about $5.17 million in a cash bonus, $3.88 million of
performance share units and a $1.5 million salary, based on the
bank’s description of his compensation plan last year.

Citigroup’s profit jumped 84 percent to $13.9 billion last
year as Corbat, 53, boosted revenue and cut costs. The CEO’s
package compares with $20 million for JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s
Jamie Dimon and $14 million for Bank of America Corp.’s Brian T. Moynihan. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gave Lloyd C. Blankfein $23
million, and hasn’t said yet whether he will get a long-term
incentive granted in past years.

Corbat, who was named CEO in October 2012 after running the
bank’s European operations, collected $11.5 million in total
compensation for that year when the New York-based firm’s stock
price rose 50 percent. Because of his split duties that period,
his pay for 2013 may not be directly comparable to the earlier
figures.

Performance Goals

Citigroup’s compensation committee adopted a new pay plan
last year after shareholders rejected the firm’s 2011
arrangement amid criticism that it let former CEO Vikram Pandit,
57, collect millions of dollars too easily. The committee is led
by Chairman Michael O’Neill.

Under the plan outlined last February, 40 percent of
Corbat’s incentive award is cash, with the rest split between
deferred stock and the performance share units, or PSUs. The
payout is linked to targets, with 70 percent tied to financial
metrics and 30 percent based on strategic goals. Citigroup could
report a different value for his compensation in its shareholder
proxy, depending on how it prices his stock awards.

Citigroup’s PSUs will be paid after three years once the
bank meets certain performance goals, according to last year’s
filing. Executives will collect all of the PSUs if Citigroup
achieves return on assets of 0.85 percent and produces a total
shareholder return equal to or greater than the 50th percentile
for eight firms including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Goldman
Sachs and Deutsche Bank AG, the filing showed.

Executives’ Awards

The bank also disclosed deferred-stock awards for other
senior executives. Co-President James “Jamie” Forese, who
oversees the unit serving institutions, received $4.03 million
of shares, and co-President Manuel Medina-Mora, head of the
consumer operations, got $2.67 million, according to separate
filings. Brian Leach, head of franchise risk and strategy, got
$2.54 million, while John Gerspach, the chief financial officer,
received $2.09 million.

The deferred-stock awards vest over four years and can be
canceled in the event of company losses, according to the
filing.